The Amusement Park
by Troodon
Summary: It scares her, this forgetting.' Selene can't let herself forget. Instead she thinks too much, and learns how to feel again. The third in my series of Michael and Selene oneshots.


A/N: Third in my Michael/Selene one-shots. This one is supposed to set sometime after both movies (timeline deliberately vague). I would greatly appreciate your thoughts, reviews and good constructive criticisms. As for the significance of September 19th, that was the day the first Underworld movie was released (the date on a poster). Interestingly enough, September 17th is the name day for the name "Selena", so I decided having the 19th as her birthday would be good. And if you're into numerology and things like that, look the numbers up.

_Disclaimer: The ideas and characters in this work of fanfiction belong to Len Wiseman and the Underworld franchise. No profit is being made off this. _

* * *

**The Amusement Park**

"It's your birthday."

_Birthday._

His voice echoed around her and she felt…oh, she didn't know, she felt thankful and sorry. But what for? She pushed that feeling away and tried to think. Today was…her birthday.

Rolling out from under the car, she lifted her eyelids up to him with a strange look. _He remembered. I didn't_. "And…?" she prodded, trying to keep her expression neutral and failing.

He smiled down at her and gravely said, "And I thought you might like to take a break today."

She gestured at the tottering heap of car parts beside her with a hand black and dirty with grease. "I've work to do, Michael. I said I'll get it done today, Nadia's just shown me how to change the—"

He grinned and said, "That means you _do_ want a break. If you really didn't you'll say so right away and you won't be listening. Nadia, you won't mind, will you?" he asked their resident mechanic, who shook her head with an amused smile as she watched their exchange quietly. Michael thanked her silently and continued, "Please, Selene. It's your birthday. Comes once a year, how can we ignore it?"

He reached down, and after a moment she took his hand, smearing black grease all over his palm, and stood.

* * *

"September 19th," she said as they were speeding along in the car, with Michael at the wheel. "The nineteenth of September. September 19th." 

"Yes, I know," he said without taking his eyes off the road. "I promised myself I'll remember, and I did."

_Yes, but I have forgotten. When did I tell you? Did I remember, long ago? Had it been in my blood? September 19th. When did I forget? September 19th, the nineteenth of September. Today. My birthday. _

How old was she? How quickly she loss track. Quickly she did some calculations and breathed a mental sigh of deep relief. At least she still knew the year, if not the date she was born. It scared her, this forgetting. There were too much she wanted to forget, but she could not let herself do that.

Instead all she said aloud was, "Where exactly are we going?"

She hoped it wasn't a romantic walk on a beach, or something. She didn't think she was ready.

* * *

They were going to an amusement park. 

"I can't believe you," Selene muttered as she got out of the car reluctantly. "An amusement park, at our age."

He laughed whole-heartedly for what felt like the first time in weeks. In her sarcastic way the solemn Selene had just made a joke, and now he was more confident about the amusement park. He reached out to take her hand. She tensed for a moment, an animal instinct she had never forgotten. _September 19th, _she thought, calming herself. _Enjoy it._ She let her shoulders relax as they walked among the throngs of excited park goers.

"Then do you think they'll let us in for a seniors' ticket?" he asked her, pointing at a sign that read, "SENIORS (65+): ADMISSION HALF-PRICE!"

"Of course, Michael. I think I have my birth certificate here somewhere," she said, patting her left side, where they both knew she had a revolver hidden under her light jacket. The cool metal against her skin reassured her. Michael glanced at her, and she nodded, _I'm fine._ He understood.

For a while they just walked together, taking in the sights and sounds and smells of the amusement park, looking for all the world like a lovey-dovey couple out for a day of fun. They passed vendors selling ice cream and fries and hot dogs, and when they got a big stick of cotton candy Selene was surprised to find that the candy didn't feel like she thought it would: rough and tasteless, like a mouthful of wool. Instead it melted on her tongue, sweet and a little overpowering, smearing sticky sugar all over her hands. They came to the rides, and Selene zeroed in on an old-style roller coaster, a rickety wooden creation that seemed to be held together by a handful of rusty nails.

"Let's go on that one," she said, pointing to the suicidal roller coaster. Without waiting for an answer she tugged Michael over to the line-up. He blinked in surprise, and Selene fought down a grin.

"Shouldn't we go on something more…something nicer, just to warm up a little?" he said plaintively, waving in the general direction of the Ferris wheel.

"I don't hear anyone screaming on that wheel thing," she retorted impatiently, already handing over a ride token. "Are you coming or not? It's only a…a…"

"Roller coaster," he supplied as they slid into the worn seats at the very front of the car. Only a slim metal bar in front of them would keep them from sliding out. The car began to move up the tracks, and Michael's white knuckles closed around the bar. They chugged slowly upwards, up and up, and as the car perched on the highest point, on the brink before the fall, Selene's stomach flipped as she stared down at the distant ground. _Strange, why humans would do this._ Then—

—she knew why.

_It's like flying,_ Selene thought, her very last rational thought as they rushed down in a chorus of screams, the wind rushing at her, tearing the very breath out of her mouth. Adrenaline took over, and she didn't think anything anymore, didn't notice anything except for Michael's hand clenched tightly around hers on the bar and the pure exhilaration of the ride. _Feel, just feel._

The day ran away much too quickly, but it was only one of many days in September. No forgetting, Selene promised quietly to both herself and Michael as they strolled contentedly beside each other. She turned her head and studied his face, his walk, his unconscious smile, and the feel of his hand around her waist. She looked up at the glittering night sky, breathed, and simply felt.


End file.
